Fires Within Fires
by snoozeling
Summary: In Pupu Village, Kirby's story wasn't the only one unfolding. His aged mentor fought much quieter battles in the shaded corners of their home, and the obscured fringes of his mind. These are snapshots of the two years prior to Nightmare's defeat. We will touch things the anime never quite touched, and reveal a whole new layer of the war's last leg. Read on.


Dedicated to

NAH'MOAH and KEIRON

(who lived short, dutiful, brave lives)

_-Never was a sharper Sword or Blade forged- _

...

**FOREWORD**

I never expected to live as long as I have. I always thought the war would take me, if not Nightmare himself. The natural lifespan for one of my kind is, above all else, ridiculous. I never thought I'd see its end. I never thought I'd see the war's end. And yet, here I am, in as good health as could be expected from someone who has been to the depths of hell and back a few too many times.

When Nightmare was defeated, I wasn't certain what to feel. Of course there was happiness of various forms; pride in Kirby's achievement, relief over Nightmare's demise, and an almost uncharacteristic amount of glee. However, there was also a gaping emptiness that, on more than one occasion, nearly overtook me. The force I had fought nearly all my life was gone, and I was left purposeless and despondent. It may sound strange that I would be upset over such a thing, but what is a warrior to do when the war has been won? I had nothing left to fight for. It was jarring.

I am eternally grateful to those who helped me to beat back that numb sorrow. Sword Knight and Blade Knight stood at my side until their last days. Escargon and Dedede, Nova rest them, continued to stir up trouble without the benefit of their _majuu, _which allowed me to make myself useful for years to come.

Perhaps the greatest distraction was watching Fumu, Bun, and Kirby grow from remarkable children to remarkable adults. Fumu left the village for some time to pursue studies in ecology and political science. She returned with several degrees of various weights and took up her father's position as Dedede's cabinet minister – and in her new position, gave the country a new pair of competent hands.

Bun, for his part, never lost the spark of wild adventure he held in his youth. He was eventually knighted and given the title, "Captain of the Guard," thus allowing Waddle Doo to retire early. Sword and Blade took over most of his training. I was too old, by that time, to do much swordplay.

Perhaps I'm biased, but I believe the most impressive of the trio was Kirby. He left Popstar a few decades after defeating Nightmare and joined forces with our old acquaintances, Joe and Sirica. The three became a dangerous force against the _majuu _that still lived in the wake of their creator's demise. To this day, I receive transmissions from Kirby detailing his latest adventures. It gives me more peace than I can put into words to know he has found a means of thriving in this cold galaxy.

My own time is drawing near to its end. My strength wanes each day, and I know that soon, I will not have the will to wake in the morning. But that is fine. I will rejoin my old companions, and all will be well.

I feel an obligation must be fulfilled before I leave, though. I feel that I must document the last leg of the war against Nightmare, so that perhaps my own actions can be learned from. It was no simple task to train an infant Star Warrior in just under two years, but it was not impossible by any stretch of the imagination. Fumu wrote her own documentations of Kirby's training years, but her insights and mine are very different. She does not have the background that I do.

I can not claim that my recollection of those two years will be the "complete" story, or the "true" story. You would have to ask Kirby himself if you wanted such things. All I can offer is my story. And I offer it here in full.

**-A/N **

This fanfiction will likely contain profanity, violence, mentions of alcohol, and some shipping. There will be no further author's notes. Read at your own discretion.


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